Chap. 43

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"Now kick your legs... good... good, you're doing great!" Blake said with a grin as he floated them deeper into the water. Her hands stayed clenched on his shoulders, her legs kicking. They had been floating around in the middle of the lake for a few minutes now, and she had already gotten the hang of it. She felt like it was going okay; honestly, she probably could try without holding onto him now, but she also didn't want to let him go just yet.

"You wanna try on your own now?"
Licking her lips, she nodded her head, slowly letting go of his shoulders. He slowly started to remove his hands, making her sink into the water slightly. She gasped, quickly grabbing back onto his shoulders while kicking her feet, looking into the water beneath them.

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, a comforting warmth. "Don't worry, I'll be right here the whole time." She grinned shyly before letting out a breath, finally fully letting go again, closing her eyes. She remembered everything he had taught her tonight: she kicked her legs, moving her arms to stay afloat. When she reopened her eyes, she saw she wasn't sinking, and Blake was smiling at her a few feet away.

"Look at you go!" she grinned widely, swimming circles around him. "I'm doing it, Blake!" she repeated, her voice filled with triumph, making him laugh. She dunked her head underneath the water for a few moments, making his smile fade from his lips as he freaked out. His eyes scanned across the water, looking for her "Emma!?" he yelled, a note of panic in his voice.

She suddenly popped up right in front of him, wrapping her wet arms around his shoulders. He let out a breath of relief, running a hand through his wet hair, pushing it off his face. "Don't fucking do that!" she just laughed, carefree, as he pushed her wet hair off his face. "Idiot," he whispered with a grin, letting his hands fall back to her waist, his touch firm and possessive.

He pulled away, splashing water at her, making her gasp before she splashed him back. He picked her up out of the water, effortlessly. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he twirled them around. As he finally stopped spinning, she looked down at him, pushing his wet, dark hair off his forehead. "Hey..." he whispered, his gaze intense as she moved her hands to his smooth cheeks.
"Hmm?" she hummed, their eyes meeting, the world shrinking to just the two of them.

He looked away for a moment, his gaze drifting over her face, before meeting her eyes again, a newfound seriousness in their depths. "You still think about your first kiss with that guy?"
She shook her head, her response immediate. She hadn't thought about it since their kiss, which she was very happy about.

"I wanted our kiss to replace that one. He didn't deserve your first kiss," he whispered, tightening his hands on her waist, pulling her impossibly closer.
His confession brought a soft, dumb smile to her lips. She hadn't wanted to pressure him to bring up the kiss topic, but she was so happy he decided to talk about it on his own. "It did replace it," she admitted, her voice soft
.
He grinned, tilting his head to the side. "I honestly want to give it another try, but this time just for myself, not out of dumb jealousy." her eyes widened slightly, feeling her cheeks heat up. Oh my god, he literally just admitted he was jealous of Jason kissing her first! And she had no clue what to say. Like a dummy, she whispered, "Y-you do?... Like right now?"

He nodded, slowly lowering her back into the water so they were more leveled. With one hand still holding her waist, he brought the other up, gently holding her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin. He smiled, watching the shocked look on her face. "Yeah, like right now..." he whispered, tilting her head up. Their lips slowly met.

Once again, she felt those fireworks going off in her chest, a cascade of sparks and warmth. Her heart was pounding so loudly she was scared he could hear it. He didn't taste like Italian food this time, but crisp mint, and it was addictive, a cool, sweet sensation that spread through her. This was technically only her third kiss, but it was probably the best one. She hummed softly against his mouth, pulling gently on the hair at the back of his neck.

He pulled her body even closer against his hard, smooth chest, eliminating any space between them. He licked over her lips, a soft, deliberate motion. She didn't understand, but it felt like he was asking her to open her mouth, so she did. When she parted her lips, his tongue slid into her mouth, a sudden, electric sensation that made her moan softly. She forgot how to swim, her legs falling limp, relying entirely on his support. He swam them effortlessly over to the edge of the lake, carefully sitting her on the cool, damp grass while continuing to swim between her legs.

He pulled his lips away, a soft sound, and began kissing down the wet side of her neck, his breath warm against her skin. She leaned back against the grass, one hand bracing herself, while the other stayed tangled in the wet hair at the back of his head, playfully tugging. He could feel her pulse racing underneath his lips, a frantic beat.

"I really like you, Em," he said, somewhat breathlessly, his voice husky. She laughed softly at his sudden loss of words while he stopped kissing, hiding his face in her neck, rubbing his big hands up and down her bare legs. Her body was on fire, tingling with a thousand sensations, feeling his gentle breaths against her neck as her fingers ran through his soft hair, trying to calm down her own nerves. She had never experienced anything like this before.

This was something that seemed like it was straight out of a K-drama or a romance book. No guy had ever shown her this much attention before, or kissed her so sweetly, or held her this closely, seeming to want nothing in the world but to protect her.

With him, everything was new, exciting, terrifying. Life had been so crazy since Blake came around, and honestly, she wouldn't change it for anything. She had no clue what they were or where they were headed, but she knew there was something undeniably powerful between them.
"I really like you, too, Lake," she murmured. She wasn't about to force him to make them official or anything, but if he asked her to be his girlfriend right now, she definitely wouldn't complain.

(Mia note: Honestly they are the cutest😭)

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